The creature was lurking behind the foliage in the foreground. Image Credit: YouTube / Bigfoot Evidence

A mysterious figure was caught on camera by a canoist in marshlands outside of Tampa, Florida.

The video was recorded in Lettuce Lake Park, a 240-acre region of Hillsborough County consisting of extensive swampland and hardwood forests that remain popular visitor attractions.

The footage shows an unidentified creature slowly making its way through the water in the background while partially obscured by the foliage in the foreground. The figure is difficult to make out in detail but does appear to be humanoid in shape.

The person who filmed it had initially believed the creature to be a bear but was later told by a park ranger that bears are only rarely sighted in the area and generally keep away from the swamp.

"I never put much faith in the old skunk ape legends but when I looked closer I noticed that it had long, swinging arms and moved through very thick swamp with ease," he wrote.